Firearm targets are used to help firearm marksmen to improve their accuracy. They are typically used in a shooting range or other controlled environment.
A firearm target is often composed of a target graphic printed onto a paper substrate. The target graphic may include concentric rings with a “bull's eye” in the center.
After a shooting session, holes in a target can be inspected to check accuracy of the marksman. With good light and binoculars, it is often possible to check accuracy in the middle of a shooting session without removing a target. However, when lighting is poor, and/or the caliber of ammunition is small, it is sometimes difficult to precisely determine shooting accuracy without approaching the target to get a closer look.
To improve visibility of bullet holes when inspected from a distance, some targets include covering all or part of the target with a layer of detachable black ink. The layer with the detachable black ink is placed over a much lighter colored layer. When a bullet strikes a part of the target covered by black ink, the layer covered with dark ink fractures around the bullet hole. The portion of the layer covered with dark ink that fractures will be larger than the bullet hole. This will expose part of the lighter colored layer immediately around the bullet hole. This makes it easier for a marksman to detect, from a distance, the location of bullet holes.